Quacks and Cures
10 June 2009
The evening will unfold with a range of enlightening and entertaining events including: a Victorian quack medicine show; a chance to handle live leeches as used in reconstructive surgery; a visit to the doctor's consultation room to receive a diagnosis from three expert physicians of different historic periods; an opportunity to witness a nail-biting 'Orthodox' vs 'Alternative' Quiz; the Guardian's 'Bad Science' writer, Dr Ben Goldacre, examining the placebo effect; a demonstration from a Shamanic practitioner; and performances of once-popular medical songs staged at London music halls and unearthed from the Wellcome Library. This unique one-off event will kick off with a newly commissioned, and lively, 'Quack' fanfare.
Quacks and Cures: Friday 10 July 2009, 19.00-23.00
Venue:
Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
Entry is free, and there is no need to book.
Alex Julyan, curator of the 'Quacks and Cures' event, explains: "Our event will encourage members of the audience to consider the relationship between past and present approaches to diagnosis and treatment through the eyes of medical history. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the decisions we make about the treatments we choose. 'Quacks and Cures' will provide a lively, informative and eccentric way to spend a Friday evening."
Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes at the Wellcome Trust, comments: "The cures of one generation frequently turn into the quackery of the next. This event celebrates the weird, marvellous and downright fraudulent in medicine's past, and asks us to ponder how distinctions between the two are made."
Debates regarding efficiency and availability of medical treatments have raged across three centuries, and are still as relevant as ever. Do centuries-old 'cures' still have value? Why do ancient remedies refuse to go away? Do they work in opposition to, or sit alongside, contemporary medical practice?
The term 'quack' originally emerged in the 18th century as a derogatory term applied by apothecaries to unqualified medical practitioners, who plied their trade through 'speechifying' or 'quacking' in public places.
Although 'quackery' remained popular throughout the 19th century, the Medical Act of 1858 introduced more robust regulation. Despite this, the quack continued to play a valuable role in the development of medical practice, forcing change through bold and occasionally reckless innovation.
'Quacks and Cures' aims to present a snapshot of some of the opinions and ideas threaded through three centuries of medical history. The showmanship and performance of some practitioners will be played out in many of the evening's activities. Bars will be open throughout the evening. The event is free to all and no booking is required.
Contact
Mike Findlay
Senior Media Officer (Wellcome Collection)
T 020 7611 8612
E
m.findlay@wellcome.ac.uk
Notes for editors
Alex Julyan is a London-based visual artist and producer who makes sculptures and site-specific work from found and ephemeral media. She also collaborates on large-scale events involving performers, musicians, artists and audiences. Her diverse interests have led to projects inspired by language, history and architecture. 'Quacks and Cures' is her first foray into the medical world.
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.
The Wellcome Trust's former headquarters, the Wellcome Building on London's Euston Road, has been redesigned by Hopkins Architects to become a new £30 million public venue. Free to all, Wellcome Collection explores the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. The building comprises three galleries, a public events space, the Wellcome Library, a café, a bookshop, conference facilities and a members' club.